This invention relates to a device for absorbing lateral forces upon a side impact of a motor vehicle having a transverse reinforcing modular unit arranged in a vehicle body in the transverse direction of the vehicle, in which the modular unit includes a transverse beam element and a supporting element connected at each end of the transverse beam element, and in which each supporting element is arranged in an area of a B pillar or a corresponding body area.
European Patent EP 0 943 530 B1 describes a vehicle having a device for absorbing lateral forces in a side impact via a transverse reinforcing modular unit, which consists of a tubular construction having two upright reinforcing tubes on the outside laterally and a tubular reinforcing element running the width of the vehicle body. The upright reinforcing tubes are attached to nodular plates incorporated into the vehicle body.
One object of the patent invention is to create a device in a motor vehicle for side impact protection and/or for absorbing lateral forces such that it will ensure optimum lateral force absorption and permit simple assembly, so that a targeted introduction of force into the vehicle body is made possible and optimum occupant protection is achievable.
This object is achieved according to this invention way of a supporting element which includes a profile part protruding upward in a vertical plane from the transverse beam element, with the profile part including first horizontal fastening sections and second vertical fastening sections, attached via the first horizontal fastening sections on the beam element, and attachable to an interior connecting part held on the vehicle chassis via the second vertical fastening sections. Additional advantageous features are also claimed.
A primary advantage achieved by the inventive device is that, in the event of a side impact and/or with forces acting laterally on a vehicle in the area of a B pillar or an area of the body behind a door cutout, the vehicle is additionally reinforced in this area, so that the occupants are protected in a crash or the like and this area of the body cannot be deformed inwardly to such an extent that the occupants are injured. According to this invention, this is achieved by having the supporting element be a profile part extending upward in a vertical plane from the beam element running transversely. The profile part is attached to the beam element via first adjusted fastening sections, and with second fastening sections, the profile part is attached to an interior connecting part secured inside on the vehicle body. According to this invention, the profile part is designed in the shape of a box and has two side walls connected via a connecting web. The walls are opposite one another at a distance, and the first fastening sections are arranged to run horizontally on each of the side walls and accommodate the beam element between them. Due to this design of the profile part, side impact forces can be transmitted optimally to the transverse beam element, which may be designed as a tube or as a sheet metal beam of any geometric shape.
The profile part is fastened to the transverse beam element as well as to the vehicle body via relatively long fastening sections so that separation is prevented. According to this invention, the profile part has the second fastening sections on its side walls in a vertical plane, and the second fastening sections are designed as bent legs on the side walls and fixedly attached to the connecting part of the vehicle body extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
The profile part is attached to a wall of the beam part with its first fastening sections, and a lower border of the fastening sections is arranged at least in the area between a lower bordering plane and an upper bordering plane of the beam part arranged above that. In order for the profile part not to protrude downward toward the beam element, resulting in a deformation that might possibly have a negative effect on the transverse beam element, the profile part with its first horizontal fastening sections is attached to the end tube section at least in a central transverse plane of the tube or below that plane, so that the end edges of the profile part go beyond the transverse central plane of the tube and end before a lower tube transverse plane bordering the tube and/or the beam element toward the bottom. As a result, no area of the profile part extends beneath the beam element, thus ensuring that a lever arm is formed only upward via the profile part that extends upward, and the beam element is deformed accordingly, absorbing energy, ensuring a survival space up to a certain height of the lateral force.
The beam element is a transverse tube. One end tube section on each side of the vehicle is attached to the profile part, and another connected transverse central tube section is attached to the end tube section via a sliding sleeve. The tube of the beam element may have a polygonal, round, ellipsoidal, or similar cross-sectional shape. The beam element may also be integrated as a beam into the undercarriage of the vehicle body or attached as a welded or riveted beam.
In order for the lateral forces to be absorbed optimally in a specified side impact situation, the profile part which is fixedly attached to the connecting part of the vehicle body is arranged above a vehicle side reinforcement and at a distance from a lateral outside wall of the vehicle body. The connecting part is attached at one end to a shaped sheet metal part forming a side reinforcement and at the other end to an inside wall of the vehicle body.
For adaptation to a vehicle having a central tunnel, the central tube section has a trapezoidal area extending beyond a central tunnel of the vehicle body, and the connected tube sections, extending transversely, are situated at a lower level and run coaxially with the end tube sections. When a lateral force is to be absorbed, the transverse tube sections and/or beam element sections may be supported partially on the central tunnel over the trapezoidal area so that the transverse beam element with a profile part does not break through to the other side of the vehicle.
An exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawings and described in greater detail below.